BlackBerry launches DTEK50, DTEK60 Android phones in India

Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry, which isn’t ironically a manufacturer of phones any more, launched the DTEK50 and DTEK60 Android-based smartphones in the Indian market on Monday. The DTEK50 and the DTEK60 have been priced at Rs 21,990 and Rs 46,990 respectively and represent a major change in strategy for the ailing smartphone giant one where the company will focus solely on software and leave manufacturing to third-party OEMs.

While the DTEK50 is being pitched as a value for money offering meant for the masses, the DTEK60 is a high-end flagship phone replete with top-of-the-line specs and premium pricing. At the same time, both the DTEK50 and DTEK60 are being pitched as the most secure Android smartphones in the world. BlackBerry claims that both the phones will receive security patches the same day that Google pushes them out.

On the inside, the DTEK50 and DTEK60 are simply rebranded Alcatel Idol 4 and Alcatel Idol 4S phones. While the DTEK50 has a 5.2-inch 1080p screen, the DTEK60 comes with a 5.5-inch QHD scratch and smudge resistant display. The DTEK50 is powered by a humble Qualcomm Snapdragon 617 processor clubbed with 3GB RAM and 16GB of internal memory which is further expandable by up to 2TB via microSD card. The DTEK60 on the other hand has a flagship Snapdragon 820 with 4GB RAM and 32GB memory which is again expandable.

The DTEK50 sports a 13-megapixel rear camera while the DTEK60 comes with a 21-megapixel rear snapper.

While the DTEK50 is backed by a 2,610mAh battery, the DTEK60 has a 3,000mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0.

Like the Priv, the DTEK60 is also a high-end flagship phone. BlackBerry has pitched it against biggies like the Google Pixel XL, with its ticket to fame being the tag of the most secure Android smartphone to date. The phone runs Android Marshmallow, but the company is apparently hard at work with Google to push out Nougat for it.